Disappearing door safe



May 27, 1952 Filed June 11, 1948 H. L. HENKEL DISAPPEARING DOOR SAFE a Sheets-Sheet; .1

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DISAPPEARING DOOR SAFE Filed June 11, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 4- INVENTOR. HARVEY L- HEN/(El- May 27, 1952 H. L. HENKEL DISAPPEARING DOOR SAFE Filed June 11, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 I l/ 1 l// KEL) Qwuwwtom Patented May 27, 195? UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DISAPPEARING DOOR SAFE Harvey L. Henkel, Hamilton, Ohio, assignor to Herring-Hall-Marvin Safe Company, Hamilton, hio,-a corporation of Florida Application June 11, 1948, Serial No. 32,492

2 Claims. 1

This invention relates to safes, and more particularly to safes in which the door is hinged to a support allowing the door to be swung open and moved to an out-of-the-way position.

Safes of the disappearing door type generally have a door which opens about an axis at one of its vertical edges to a position substantially perpendicular to the closed position of the door. The door is hinged to a mullion which is free to move only in a forward or backward direction in a compartment along the side of the safe. The door follows the mullion into the compartment and is in an out-of-the-way position while the safe is open. Generally, safes of the disappearing door type have a linkage joining the mullion and the rear wall of the safe to hold the mullion in a vertical position as it moves backward or forward in the compartment along the side of the safe. This linkage must be of heavy construction to support the door because of the weight of the door and the lon distance from the point of attachment of the linkage to the wall of the safe and the center of gravity of the door.

It is an object of this invention to provide a cabinet of the disappearing door type in which the mullion to which the door is hinged is supported on rollers and moves on a track along the side of the safe.

Another object of this invention is to provide a safe of the disappearing door type in which the door is hinged to a mullion having a roller attached thereto opposing any tendency of the weight of the door to rotate the mullion.

A further object of this invention is to provide a safe of the disappearing door type in which the lateral movement of the mullion to which the door of the safe is hinged is obstructed by a guide plate.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a safe of the disappearing door type in which a roller engages the face of the door to guide it as it moves into a recess.

With these and other objects in view as will become apparent in the following description, this invention resides in a safe having a compartment along one side for the reception of the door when the safe is open. A mullion, to which the door is hinged, is'supported on rollers and moves on a track in the compartment to support the door as it moves into the compartment.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a safe constructed according to this invention with the door in closed position.

Figure 2 is also a perspective view showing the safe with the door in the open, out-of-the-way position in which it is normally used.

Figure 3 is a vertical cross sectional view along the section line 3-3 in Figure 5 showing the mullion in elevation.

Figure 4 is a cross sectional view taken along the line i-4 in Figure 3 illustrating the support of the mullion on the track in the compartment for the door and showing the door of the safe in phantom.

Figure 5 is a horizontal sectional view along the section line 55 in Figure 3 of the safe with the door closed illustrating the means of supporting the door of the safe on the mullion.

Figure 6 is a cross sectional view along the section line 6-5 of Figure 3 of the safe when the door is open and partially receded in the compartment.

Referring to Figure 1, the safe of this invention is illustrated having an outer shell, indicated generally by I, closed by a door 2 which fits the opening in a front panel 3. As is best illustrated, in Figure 4 the outer shell I has a top plate 4, a bottom plate 5, and a side plate 6. The back of the outer shell I is closed by a back plate 1. The top plate 4, bottom plate 5, and back plate 1 extend beyond the side plate 6 to an end plate 8 and thereby form a compartment, indicated generally by 9, into which the door 2 of the safe recedes. The safe is provided with an inner shell, indicated generally by ID substantially concentric with the outer shell I and separated therefrom by a layer of insulating material I I as is customary with safes.

The door 2 is provided with a lock l3 of any suitable type, illustrated in Figure 1 as a combination lock, and suitable bolt work, not shown, connected to a handle M to lock the door in the closed position. The door closes into a door jamb 15 which may have a bead l6 extending around the opening of the door. The bead It has an abrupt shoulder ll along its rear edge for engagement with the bolt work of the door when the safe is locked.

An angle iron I8 is secured to the bottom plate 5 of the compartment 9 and extends substantially horizontally in the compartment and parallel to the side wall 6 of the outer shell I of thesafe. A second angle iron I9 is secured to angle iron l8 by any suitable means, such as bolts 20, and provides a horizontal flange 2| which is spaced from the bottom plate 5 of the safe. The flange 2| is preferably grooved along its upper surface at 22. Clearly, the angle irons l8 and I9 may be of unitary construction, since it is only necessary to provide a suitable surface on which a mullion may travel in the compartment 9, and a flange spaced from the bottom of the compartment.

A mullion 23 having its lower edge 24 in groove 22 extends vertically substantially the full height of the compartment 9. The mullion 23 is generally arelatively narrow flat plate to which the door 2 of the safe. is hinged and which may move from the front to the back of the compartment 9 to draw the door 2 into the compartment. It is desirable that the mullion have the greatest width possible to increase its stability, but its width must allow it to travel far enough in the compartment 9 to allow the door 2 to recede the desired distance into the compartment. The lower edge 24 of the compartment will engage the walls of the groove 22 in the upper surface of flange 2| to prevent lateral displacement of the lower edge of the mullion and guide the mullion as it movesin the compartment.

A plurality of supporting rollers 25 are attached near the lower edge of the mullion in any suitable manner, such as by pins 26, bushing 27, and nuts 28 and 29 for the freely movable support of the mullion above the flange 2|. are positioned to travel along the upper edge of angle iron l8 which serves as a track as the mullion moves in the compartment 9. Generally one of the rollers 25 will be positioned'near the front edge of the mullion 23 and another placed near the rear edge to increase its stability but, of course, any number of rollers may be used.

An arm 3| is adjustably secured to the surface of the mullion opposite the rollers 25 by means of bolts 32 for the support of a retaining roller 33 which engages the lower surface of the flange 2|. Adjustment of the position of the arm 3| is obtained by means of an adjusting screw 34 operating in a hanger 35 which is secured to the mullion 23. The adjusting screw 34 engages a nut 33 attached to the arm 3| and moves the arm to the desired position as the screw 32 is turned. The arm 3| is off-set from the mullion at its lower end to clear the edge of the flange 2| and support the retaining roller 33. Retaining roller 33 will generally be spaced slightly from the bottom plate 5 of the safe and will engage the lower surface of flange 2| to prevent upward movement of the mullion 23. The arm 3|, and consequently the retaining roller 33, H

should be located near the rear edge of the mullion. The weight of the door will tend to rotate the top of the mullion forwardly about the front supporting roller as an axis and any tendency for the mullion to rotate will be opposed by the engagement of the retaining roller 33 with the lower surface of the flange 2| near the back edge of the mullion.

A guide plate 31 extends from one of the walls of the compartment 9 to a position adjacent the upper edge of the mullion 23 to provide lateral support for the mullion as it moves in the compartment. The guide plate 31 may be supported in any suitable manner, and in the modification shown is attached by means of'bolts 38 to an angle iron 39 which, in turn is secured to the top plate of the compartment.

A pair of strips 40 and 4| extend beyond the upper edge of the mullion 23 to form a channel 42 for the reception of the guide plate 31. The guide plate 31 fits slidably in the channel to allow movement in a forward and backward direction but prevents lateral displacement of the upper edge of the mullion.

Stops43 and M are-provided at the forward The rollers 25 K to the front of the safe.

edge of the guide plate 31 and angle iron l8, re spectively, to limit the forward movement of the mullion. Similar stops, such as 45, may be pro vided at the rear of the compartment 9 to limit the backward movement of the mullion and thereby protect the handles on the door 2 of the safe.

Referring to Figure 3, a supporting plate 47 is rigidly secured to the forward edge of the mullion for the support of a hinge, indicated generally by 69. The door 2 of the safe hangs in the hinge 48 and swings from the closed position to a position substantially perpendicular to the front of the safe. Generally, it will be desirable to provide adjusting means such as adjusting screws 49 and adjustable pins 59 in the hinges to allow adjustment of the elevation of the door.

Preferably the hinge 48 is attached to the door 2 at a distance from the edge of the door substantially equal to the distance from the outer wall of the compartment 9 to thehinge. 48. In this manner an arm 52 is formed which extends beyond the hinge 28 and swings around the hinge as the door is opened. The arm 52 is flanged inwardly at 53 along its edge and when the door is opened, the flange 53 engages a bracket 54 secured to the outer face of the mullion. The arm 52 and flange 53, therefore, combine with the bracket .54 to limit the opening of the door 2. When the door 2 is closed, arm 52 extends across the front of compartment 9 to close it.

A guide roller 55 is supported along the outer wall of the compartment 9 at the proper height to engage a rib 53 on the face of the safe door 2. As the door 2 is opened and moved into the compartment 9, the guide roller 55 engages the rib 2 to align the door properly for movement in the compartment 9. 7

If the door 2 of the safe is closed, the'mullion 23 and the hinge 38 will be in the position illustrated in Figure 5. As the door 2 is opened it rotates on the hinge 48 until the flange 53 of the arm 52 along the edge of the door engages the bracket 54 attached to the mullion. At this position the door will be substantially perpendicular When the door is in the wide-open position or in' the position illustrated in Figure 6 of the drawings, its weight tends to rotate the mullion about the forward roller 25. The retaining roller 33 then engages the lower surface of the flange 2| and maintains the mullion in the proper alignment; Any lateral forces tending to displace the mullion 23 will be opposed by the strips it and 41 engaging the guide plate 3'1.

If the door 2 is pushed towards the safe when it is in an open position, the mullion 23 will travel along the track formed by'the upper edge of the angle iron is and the flange 2! of angle iron |9 towards the rear of the compartment 9. The mullion 23 then draws the door into the compartment to the position corresponding to that illustrated in Figure 2 of the drawings; As the door moves into the compartment, the guide roller 55, which extends from the side wall of the compartment 9, engages the rib56 along the front surface of the door and aligns the door properly in the compartment. The guide roller 55 and rib 5B prevent the surface of the door of the cabinet from being marred by contact with the front panel 3 of the safe.

The provision of rollers engaging the upper and lower surfaces of the track allows the mullion to move freely and easilyinto'the compartment 9. By using a roller'to oppose the tendency of the weight of the doorto rotate the mullion, friction is reduced to a minimum and the requirement of rugged linkage to support the mullion is obviated.

Throughout this disclosure the invention has been described as applied to a safe. The invention may, of course, be used for a cabinet of any type.

While this invention has been described in detail with respect to a particular modification of invention described herein, it is to be understood that the concept of this invention is not limited to those details, but is determined by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A safe of the disappearing door type having an insulated forwardly opening cabinet, a forwardly opening compartment adjacent one side of said cabinet, horizontally and fore and aft extending track means mounted in said compartment and comprising an angle member having one side thereof extending vertically upwards, a second angle member fixed to said first-mentioned angle member and having one side extending laterally therefrom, said last-mentioned side having parallel upwardly and downwardly facing horizontal surfaces, said upper surface having a longitudinal groove therein, mullion means mounted for movement longitudinally fore and aft on said track, said mullion means having a substantial dimension in the direction of move ment thereof and an extremity lying in said groove, a supporting roller means carried by the mullion means at least adjacent the forward vertical edge thereof and engaging the upwardly facing edge of said first-mentioned angle member, retaining roller means carried by said mullion means adjacent the rearward vertical edge thereof at a maximum spacing from said supporting roller so as to enhance the stability of said mullion means, said retaining roller means engaging said downwardly facing surface of said second-mentioned angle member, a door hinged to the forward vertical edge of said mullion means to close the cabinet in the forward position of said mullion means and to be received in said compartment in the rearward position thereof, a lateral extension on said door closing the forward opening of said compartment when said door closes said cabinet, and a right angular edge flange in said lateral extension of the door engaging said mullion means in open position of the door to limit the opening thereof and align it parallel with the path of movement of said mullion means.

2. A safe of the disappearing door type having an insulated forwardly opening cabinet, a forwardly opening compartment adjacent one side of said cabinet, horizontally and fore and aft extending track means mounted in said compartment and comprising an angle member having one side thereof extending vertically upwards, a second angle member fixed to said first-mentioned angle member and having one side extending laterally therefrom, said last-mentioned side having parallel upwardly and downwardly facing horizontal surfaces, said upper surface having a longitudinal groove therein, mullion means mounted for movement longitudinally fore and aft on saidtrack, said mullion means having a substantial dimension in the direction of movement thereof and an extremity lying in said groove, a supporting roller means carried by the mullion means at least adjacent the forward vertical edge thereof and engaging the upwardly facing edge of said firstmentioned angle member, retaining roller means carried by said mullion means adjacent the rearward vertical edge thereof at a maximum spacing from said supporting roller so as to enhance the stability of said mullion means, said retaining roller meansengaging said downwardly facing surface of said second-mentioned angle member, a door hinged to the forward vertical edge of said mullion means to close the cabinet in the forward position of said mullion means and to be received in said compartment in the rearward position thereof, a lateral extension on said door closing the forwarding opening of said compartment when said door closes said cabinet, a right angular edge flange in said lateral extension of the door engaging said mullion means in open position of the door to limit the opening thereof and align it parallel with the path of movement of said mullion means, said door having a horizontally disposed rib formed on the exterior surface thereof, and a roller mounted in said compartment and arranged to bear against said rib to prevent marring of the surface of the door during fore and aft movement thereof.

HARVEY L. HENKEL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

